Task needs simultaneous resources

[WillBuochs]

I have a task that requires a machine and an operator to be completed.

Each is set up as a seperate resource with their own calendars. The working
time of the resources only overlap occaisonally (1 week in a month) based on
machine availability.

MS Project schedules the task to complete based on the availability of only
the operator (if "finish as soon as possible" constraint). It allocates all
the effort to the operator and none to the machine (or sometimes vica-versa).
It also sometimes splits the task.

How can I constrain the task to start when only both resources are available?

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

First, I want to ak you how you come to the conclusion

" It allocates all the effort to the operator and none to the machine (or
sometimes vica-versa)."
Because if you assign both resources as work resources, it never does.

This being said, you hit the (IMHO) most incredible weakness of Project. It
looks like the makers of Project have never heard of working together.
I found this so dramatic that I wrote an article on a possible workaround,
which you can read on my website. Mind you, it implies you do not give
resources an own calendar and that you represent non-availability as tasks,
and then use resource leveling to solve the overallocations (because
resource leveling HAS the option to keep resources together!)

Hoep this helps,

 

[WillBuochs]

Jan,

Thanks for the reply. I will check out your web site. You have confirmed
my investigtions that MSP does not consider joint resources. I have acheived
my end goal by making a new resource (man and machine) with its own calendar.
Whilst far from perfect it has fixed the immediate problem.

Ref your question about effort, when I asked my original question MSP
allocated all the work to the operator and none to the machine. Since then I
have played (blindly) with my project plan, and this no longer appears to be
happening, and work is being allocated equally to each resource, and the task
is being split. I have no idea how I acheived either configuration, another
success for MS intuitive user interface!

 

[Jan De Messemaeker]

Hi,

You must have assigned the machine a a material resource instead of a work
resource.
HTH